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BOSTON - Monday, February 6, 2023 - Today,
Mayor Michelle Wu celebrated the arrival of the first two electric school
buses to the Boston Public Schools (BPS) school bus fleet. An additional 18
buses will arrive in the coming weeks and are expected to be in use
following the February school vacation. This is a major milestone in
creating a Green New Deal for the City of Boston, leading to immediate
health and quality-of-life improvements for Boston students, workers, and
residents, while advancing climate action. Mayor Wu joined BPS
Superintendent Mary Skipper, Green New Deal Director Oliver Sellers-Garcia,
BPS Director of Transportation Dan Rosengard, bus driver trainers, and
community members at the Readville bus yard in Hyde Park to see how these
electric buses are being integrated into the fleet.
“I’m grateful to the many people who have
been instrumental in getting Boston to this point and helping us
demonstrate the many overlapping benefits of moving to a green economy and
ensuring that our kids and our workforce are at the center of that
transition,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “Today is one of many
steps we are taking to make Boston a Green New Deal city and to move with
the urgency that our communities and residents deserve. From cutting down
on emissions from every part of our education infrastructure – where our
students learn and how they get to class – to preparing our next generation
of workers to build and sustain cleaner, greener infrastructure for all of
us, we’re so excited about where this will lead Boston.”
“Our children deserve to learn, grow up,
and play while enjoying clean air and experiencing a healthy environment
free of air pollution,” said Boston Public Schools Superintendent
Mary Skipper. “When these buses hit the road, they will operate
with zero emissions and significantly lower noise levels than their
diesel-fuel counterparts. So when you see the buses with the green bird
with a plug logo on each side, be sure to wave and smile as they and the
children inside represent our great city's future.”
“As a City, we know we must prioritize the
development of electric vehicle infrastructure to support the future of
green mobility in Boston to advance our Green New Deal for all of our
residents,” said Green New Deal Director Oliver Sellers-Garcia.
“I’m grateful to Boston Public Schools for their leadership in making
critical climate investments while supporting the health of our communities
and growing our green workforce trained with these skills.”
The BPS Department of Transportation carefully
selected the first routes – 111 trips, across 42 schools – to run
electric school buses based on a variety of factors, including distance
from the dispatch yard charging station, total length of route, and the
expected traffic patterns along the route, with a preference for
stop-and-go traffic rather than highway driving. Additionally, the cold
weather deployment was factored into route selection to ensure power supply
for battery conditioning and bus heating. Routes travel through nearly all
of Boston’s neighborhoods.
BPS is finalizing installation of 20
charging stations at the Readville bus yard, utilizing increased charging
capacity that was added with support from Eversource. Each electric bus
will have a dedicated charger and be charged every day. The total time to
charge each bus is about three to four hours. The learnings from this first
phase of electric school bus deployment will support the City in designing
and implementing future electric school bus fleet expansion.
Prior to integrating the 20 buses into the
fleet, BPS is training driver trainers, drivers, mechanics, operations
staff, and emergency responders to ensure familiarity with the bus design
and operation. During the upcoming February vacation, drivers will test
routes to ensure they are comfortable driving the new buses in advance of
students boarding later this month. An estimated 2,561 students across 42
schools will be riding the 20 buses each school day. BPS currently has 620
buses on the road each day.
Boston’s Green New Deal works to address
climate change with positive co-benefits including creating good jobs,
enhancing public health, and transforming structures to promote racial and
economic justice. School bus electrification will protect children from
diesel particulate matter, eliminate tailpipe emissions, address air
quality and noise concerns around school pick-up and drop-off, and offer a
healthier work environment for bus drivers and monitors. The City of Boston
is fostering the Green New Deal by leveraging funding to invest in
solutions that improve the lives of Bostonians and catalyze the transition
to a just, green City.
In April 2022, Mayor Wu first announced that
up to 20 electric school buses would be deployed during the 2022-23 school
year. These electric buses will replace existing diesel buses. These buses
were funded through the BPS operating budget and the federal American
Rescue Plan Act. Mayor Wu previously shared the goal that BPS will work to
replace additional big buses each year, and then move to replacing smaller
buses until the entire fleet is electrified by 2030.
Additionally last spring, the Public Works
Central Fleet Maintenance Division introduced the first ever
train-the-trainer class for fleet mechanics from the Public Works
Department (PWD) and BPS on how to safely service and repair electric
vehicles at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School. To date, eight
mechanics from the PWD and two from BPS have completed the course and
continue to take online classes to keep pace with the ever-changing
technology. Beginning in the fall of this year, electric vehicle
maintenance will be added as part of the core curriculum for seniors
participating in Madison Park’s automotive program.
Today’s celebration will lay the foundation
for the future of the Boston Public Schools bus fleet. The City intends to
use federal funding from the Environmental Protection Agency and Inflation
Reduction Act to further expand the number of electric buses in the fleet
and enhance training for staff.
The City has been making progress on its
commitment to installing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations throughout
Boston’s neighborhoods for both municipal use and residents. The City
currently operates 66 LV II EV charging plugs across 14 municipal parking
lots. There are plans to add an additional 18 LV II EV charging plugs, and
four high-speed LV III DC fast chargers this year. This investment in
public charging, along with the City’s EV readiness policy for new
development and right-to-charge rules for condominium residents provide a
foundation for the rapid, equitable electrification of transportation in
Boston. The City also continues to electrify its vehicle fleet, adding
charging plugs where City vehicles are garaged, prioritizing EVs in its
replacement cycle, and adding its first all-electric street sweeper last
year.
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